Bates Film Festival - BFF

Bates Film Festival - BFF The 5th Bates Film Festival will take place May 12-17, 2026 in Lewiston and Portland, Maine. FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!

We're proud to announce our 2026 Bates Film Festival Jury and Audience Award winners! Our program featured a record 50 f...
06/15/2026

We're proud to announce our 2026 Bates Film Festival Jury and Audience Award winners! Our program featured a record 50 films this year, and these decisions were tough! Congratulations to the winners!!!

Best Fiction Feature (Jury and Audience)
KÖLN 75

Best Fiction Short (Jury and Audience)
JULY 4TH, EAST NEW YORK

Best Documentary Feature (Jury)
UNLESS SOMETHING GOES TERRIBLY WRONG

Best Documentary Feature (Audience)
PUT YOUR SOUL ON YOUR HAND AND WALK

Best Documentary Short (Jury)
WE WERE THE SCENERY

Best Documentary Short (Audience)
P*E SHY

Best Short Film (Jury)
LUNA AND THE BRAIN TUNA

Special Jury Award for Artistic Adaptability
AMERICAN PACHUCO: THE LEGEND OF LUIS VALDEZ

The Marc ('92) and Alison Chaput Award for Best Maine College Film
FRET

The Marc ('92) and Alison Chaput Award for Best Bates Film
ON THE TIDE

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We're so proud to reveal the official 2026 Bates Film Festival! We hope you love it as much as we do! Come out to the th...
05/13/2026

We're so proud to reveal the official 2026 Bates Film Festival! We hope you love it as much as we do! Come out to the theater and join us! You won't regret it! And thank you to all of our sponsors who make this possible! Bates College Bates College Alumni Maine Film Association - MFA Permanent Commission on Status of Racial, Indigenous & Tribal Populations Maine Irish Heritage Center WGME CBS 13 News, Portland The Maine Playweek Portland Museum of Art SPACE Portland Public Library KinoniK Portland Media Center

https://www.instagram.com/p/DYSSoV0TpOd/

One of the new BFF venues this year is the Portland Media Center We are so thankful for them for coming on board! Conve...
05/12/2026

One of the new BFF venues this year is the Portland Media Center We are so thankful for them for coming on board! Conveniently situated on Congress St. and home to community mediamakers of all backgrounds and ages, the PMC is a partner that shares many of the same values as the festival! Thank you PMC for welcoming us to your venue! Bates College

Inside tip! Some of the best conversations at the Bates Film Festival happen at the Portland Public Library The Rines A...
05/12/2026

Inside tip! Some of the best conversations at the Bates Film Festival happen at the Portland Public Library The Rines Auditorium has hosted some great ones, and there are more to be had this year! Thank you to the Portland Public Library for being a wonderful venue and a great space for conversation! Bates College

Did you catch and on this morning?! They were great! They went on LIVE TV - a first for both of them - on ARC Maine a...
05/12/2026

Did you catch and on this morning?! They were great! They went on LIVE TV - a first for both of them - on ARC Maine and told the world... or at least Maine... about the Bates Film Festival! Nice work, Batesies! Look for the segment to be posted online soon! Bates College Bates College Alumni .theater.dance

One of the coolest venues in all of Portland, Maine! SPACE Gallery has been showing our work for the last two festivals,...
05/12/2026

One of the coolest venues in all of Portland, Maine! SPACE Gallery has been showing our work for the last two festivals, and we are so honored! After all, world touring musicians, known artists, and prominent local playwrights (DESI VAN TIL) and actors (MATTHEW DELAMATER) perform, exhibit, and otherwise hang out there... and then they are the movies they bring in! Thank you SPACE for welcoming us! You're the best!

We are so proud of our partnership with the Portland Museum of Art They have been a wonderful home for us for the past t...
05/12/2026

We are so proud of our partnership with the Portland Museum of Art They have been a wonderful home for us for the past two festivals, and we look forward to working with them in the future. When the festival is not going on, is bringing a stellar lineup of movies to our doorstep here in Maine, on the big screen, with an audience, the way movies should be! Thank you, PMA, for being our home away from home!

What better way to lead off this year's festival than with some Bates celebrities talking about the latest media sensati...
05/12/2026

What better way to lead off this year's festival than with some Bates celebrities talking about the latest media sensation?! At 3pm today, join and some of the sharpest students this side of the Androscoggin for a discussion of HEATED RIVALRY. These REEL TALKs are never boring! You always leave with a smile on your face! Not enough? How about we throw in the premiere of the 2026 BFF Trailer?! You'll be seeing it everywhere soon, but why not be there for the premiere?! 3PM COMMONS 221; FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!!! LET'S GO!!!! Bates College Bates College Alumni

Our friends at WGME CBS 13 News, Portland are wonderful! And wouldn't you know there's a Batesie that works over there! ...
05/12/2026

Our friends at WGME CBS 13 News, Portland are wonderful! And wouldn't you know there's a Batesie that works over there! WGME came on board this year as a media sponsor, and quickly set to work producing short ads for us that are airing on Portland's CBS and Fox affiliates. They also invited us on their ARC Maine program! Watch for us on the morning of the 12th... the first day of the festival! We'll be talking about all things movies, festivals, and Bates College ! Thank you for helping to spread the word about the BFF!!! Bates College Alumni

There's nothing quite like coming home, and we're so honored that Ru Hasanov is making the trip all the way back to Bat...
05/11/2026

There's nothing quite like coming home, and we're so honored that Ru Hasanov is making the trip all the way back to Bates to share his work with us at the Bates Film Festival. Ru is a 2009 grad. What's he been doing? Finishing up his 3rd feature, making his country's official selection for the 94th Academy Awards, establishing the film industry in Azerbaijan, winning festival awards... and returning to Bates for the BFF! Thank you, Ru! So looking forward to welcoming you to your home away from home! Bates College Bates College Alumni Portland Museum of Art .theater.dance

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Lewiston, ME
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